


Hurricane

by snewvilliurs



Series: The NORA House Chronicles [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-03
Updated: 2013-07-03
Packaged: 2017-12-17 14:45:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/868746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snewvilliurs/pseuds/snewvilliurs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Fall, Lebreau finds out exactly why the Cavalry are helping them build New Bodhum, and it isn't something for her to be too happy about.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hurricane

**Author's Note:**

> I've always wanted to write a fic where Lebreau and Rygdea hooked up while he helped building New Bodhum, but never got around to it. And then I read a [translation of Fragments Before](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MefscLocpd3Fi5wdkNfyWwsah2lrO9FTnTyXq7HwFf0/edit?pli=1), where it explains his decision to help out, so I just had to write this, (and kept the implications of a recently established physical relationship because I'm self-indulgent).

Lebreau cornered him in the nearly finished NORA House—dumb name, but it was their town; whatever made them happy—while everyone was eating lunch outside. At first, he misunderstood her intentions for the habit they had built in the last few days, but then he realized that the look in her eyes wasn’t the right kind of predatory.

“I overheard two of your men talking earlier. You don’t give a single shit what happens to us, do you?”

Her tone was questioning, but she wasn’t asking—she was accusing. And as much as he hated to admit it, even only to himself, she was right to. Still, he had to do some damage control, because her trust in the army was still scorched raw, and the last thing he needed was for her to turn the entire village against him when the entire purpose of what remained of the Cavalry sweating their asses off building this town on the beach was exactly the opposite. He didn’t know her well like he did Snow, but what he did know was that she could be just as much as a hothead as her leader was; it was just easier to even out his recklessness with some calm. But when he wasn’t involved, her temper sparked like current on an uninsulated wire—Maqui’s words. 

(Rygdea took that and the look on his face to mean that Lebreau was spunky and short-tempered to the point of inducing a healthy amount of fear.)

“Look, don’t jump to conclusions, okay? If I didn’t care about the people, we wouldn’t be here. We were on your side then, and we still are now.”

“I know all that,” she said firmly. “That’s not the problem. My problem with you right now is that you’re using us, like the fal’Cie used Snow and the others—like the Sanctum used us in the Purge. If you want to gain back the people’s trust, why don’t you just, I don’t know, do it with honesty? We’re not your puppets any more than we were before the Fall.”

Her voice had begun shaking with anger, and he placed both hands on her arms, only to have her shrug them away and hiss something about how he shouldn’t dare touch her, even though she still had a forearm planted across his chest to pin him to the wall.

“I swear I don’t think of you as puppets. Just—Snow askin’ us for help was a good opportunity. If we’re going to rebuild, we need everyone to know the truth, and they’ll only listen to us if they trust us. We’re just helping.”

She gave a dry laugh. “No, you’ve helped. That’s that; you’re just like the rest of them. Pack up and go back to Cocoon and rebuild as much as you want, we’re fine on our own. If you leave, I’ll let everyone believe that you came here out of the goodness of your heart because Snow asked. Just don’t come over here and use his friendship as a ploy to make the army look good again.”

Once he gave a nod, she returned the gesture and gave him one last disapproving look before starting to walk away.

“Hey, Lebreau. I just want you to know that, uh, you an’ me...it had nothing to do with politics. Just me, ‘cause I liked you. I’ve wanted to do that since I came to Bodhum looking for Vanille before the Purge.”

“Me too,” she said with a look over her shoulder. “Good on you though, you’re not that gross.”

He gave a small laugh, following after her from a distance. He never did get to see her look of surprise, and then fondness, caused by the knowledge that he remembered meeting her in Bodhum—he was too busy thinking that that woman was a damn hurricane.


End file.
